Hispanics In The Baseball Hall Of Fame: A Look At The Legendary Latino Players (PHOTOS)

08/12/2011 06:28 pm ET
|
Updated
Oct 10, 2011

Roberto Clemente. Rod Carew. Tony Perez.

Their names have gone down in baseball legend, but as it turns out, these three greats have more in common that simply the love of the game: they are also three of the Baseball Hall of Fame's inductees to have Hispanic-American backgrounds.

Their accomplishments are indeed remarkable. Known as "the Great One," the Puerto Rican-born Clemente had a stellar batting average of .350 three years (in 1961, 1967 and 1970), while Perez, who is of Cuban descent, hit a staggering 40 home runs in his top 1970 season. Born to a Panamanian mother on a train in the town of Gatún, Carew amassed 3,053 career hits in his 12 seasons with the Minnesota Twins and seven with the California Angels.

As The New York Times reported, two other baseball greats -- Ted Williams and Reggie Jackson -- were both of Hispanic heritage, but drew little attention to their personal backgrounds throughout their stellar careers.

Take a look at the Hispanic-born inductees of the Baseball Hall of Fame here:

Hispanic American Baseball Greats

Hispanic American Baseball Greats

1

of

9

Roberto Clemente

The first Latin American player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, Clemente is often referred to as "The Great One." Born in Puerto Rico, Clemente played with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the entire duration of his career (1955-72), during which he hit .350 three times (in 1961, 1967 and 1970) and won 12 consecutive gold glove awards.

Share this slide:

AP

Correction: The slideshow has been updated to include Jackson and Williams, who had been previously omitted.